We are just a few weeks away from the infamous Black Friday and the official start of holiday shopping. Though if you’re like me, you may have started your shopping already.

For some reason, putting a Christmas list together seems odd as an adult. But my family (and I have a large one) always asks for “the list”. This year, putting the list together is a bit easier thanks to Evernote, Pinterest and Etsy. How did I ever survive Christmas 2010 without them? Ha!

When I’m putting a list together, I struggle with balancing what I need with what I want. And let’s be real – if you’re living in the USA and have access to the internet to read this, you probably don’t have a lot of needs. So let’s say, what’s practical versus what’s frivolous. And since we’re aware of our lack of needs, we should also be aware of others’ needs. I tried to keep this front-of-mind and have included several items that give back through donations to those in need around the world.